William Hill Sports Book of the Year

Annual British sports literary award
the Irish literary award

The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British sports writing award sponsored by bookmaker William Hill. It was first presented in 1989, and was conceived by Graham Sharpe of William Hill, and John Gaustad, founder of the Sports Pages bookshop. As of 2020, the remuneration is £30,000, and a leather bound copy of their book. Each of the shortlisted authors receives £3,000. As of 2020, the judging panel is chaired by Alyson Rudd and includes retired professional footballer and former chairman of the Professional Footballer’s Association, Clarke Carlisle; five time Olympic medallist and rower Dame Katherine Grainger; broadcaster and writer John Inverdale; broadcaster Danny Kelly and journalist and broadcaster Mark Lawson.

Paul Kimmage was the first author to win both the Irish (2011) and International awards (1990). In 2010, Duncan Hamilton, a winner twice in the previous three years, was again included in the shortlist, although on this occasion, when the award was announced on 30 November in London, the prize was won by Brian Moore, the former England rugby union international, for his autobiography, Beware of the Dog. In 2011, there was a "surprise inclusion" to the shortlist of Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson, a biography of quadriplegic Matt Hampson, by 1990 winner Paul Kimmage, despite it not being included on the longlist. The shortlist also included a book on bullfighting, Into The Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight by Alexander Fiske Harrison, despite journalists including Fiske Harrison himself arguing that bullfighting was not a sport, leading to the employment of security for the first time at the ceremony at Waterstones of Piccadilly. In the end the prize went to A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke, about Robert Enke who committed suicide, by Ronald Reng. Duncan Hamilton is the only author to have won the award three times, first in 2007, second in 2009 and most recently in 2019. Boxing author Donald McRae has twice won the award, in 1996 and 2002.

+ Winners of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Year Title Author(s) Featured subject(s) Featured sport Ref(s) 1989 True Blue: The Oxford Boat Race Mutiny Dan Topolski, Patrick Robinson The Boat Race Rowing 1990 Rough Ride: An Insight into Pro Cycling Paul Kimmage Paul Kimmage Cycling 1991 Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times Thomas Hauser Muhammad Ali Boxing 1992 Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life Nick Hornby Nick Hornby Football 1993 Endless Winter: The Inside Story of the Rugby Revolution Stephen Jones Rugby union Rugby union 1994 Football Against the Enemy Simon Kuper Football Football 1995 A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour John Feinstein PGA Tour Golf 1996 Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing Donald McRae Boxing Boxing 1997 A Lot of Hard Yakka: Cricketing Life on the County Circuit Simon Hughes Simon Hughes Cricket 1998 Angry White Pyjamas: An Oxford Poet Trains with the Tokyo Riot Police Robert Twigger Robert Twigger Aikido 1999 A Social History of English Cricket Derek Birley Cricket Cricket 2000 It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins Lance Armstrong Cycling 2001 Seabiscuit: The True Story of Three Men and a Racehorse Laura Hillenbrand Seabiscuit Horse racing 2002 In Black and White: The Untold Story of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens Donald McRae Joe Louis, Jesse Owens Athletics, Boxing 2003 Broken Dreams: Vanity, Greed and the Souring of British Football Tom Bower Football Football 2004 Basil D'Oliveira: Cricket and Conspiracy: the Untold Story Peter Oborne Basil D'Oliveira Cricket 2005 My Father & Other Working Class Football Heroes Gary Imlach Stewart Imlach Football 2006 Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Geoffrey Ward Jack Johnson Boxing 2007 Provided You Don't Kiss Me: 20 Years With Brian Clough Duncan Hamilton Brian Clough Football 2008 Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography of Marcus Trescothick Marcus Trescothick, Peter Hayter Marcus Trescothick Cricket 2009 Harold Larwood Duncan Hamilton Harold Larwood Cricket 2010 Beware of the Dog: Rugby's Hard Man Reveals All Brian Moore Brian Moore Rugby union 2011 A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke Ronald Reng Robert Enke Football 2012 The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover ups, and Winning at All Costs Tyler Hamilton, Daniel Coyle Tyler Hamilton, Lance Armstrong Cycling 2013 Doped: The Real Life Story of the 1960s Racehorse Doping Gang Jamie Reid William Roper, Micheline Lugeon Horse racing 2014 Night Games: Sex, Power and a Journey into the Dark Heart of Sport Anna Krien "Justin Dyer" Australian rules football 2015 The Game of Our Lives: The Meaning and Making of English Football David Goldblatt Football Football 2016 Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life William Finnegan William Finnegan Surfing 2017 Tom Simpson: Bird on the Wire Andy McGrath Tom Simpson Cycling 2018 A Boy in The Water [joint winner] Tom Gregory Tom Gregory Long distance swimming 2018 The Lost Soul of Eamonn Magee [joint winner] Paul D. Gibson Eamonn Magee Boxing2020The Rodchenkov Affair: How I Brought Down Russia's Secret Doping EmpireGrigory RodchenkovDoping in RussiaOlympic Games 2021 Why We Kneel, How We Rise Michael Holding Black Lives Matter Athletics, cricket, etc. 2022 Beryl: In Search of Britain's Greatest Athlete Jeremy Wilson Beryl Burton Cycling 2023 Good For a Girl Lauren Fleshman Lauren Fleshman Athletics